Generics

Within the next six months, a number of widespread brand-name drugs will become available as generics. Atorvastatin (Lipitor) which made Pfizer $11 billion in revenues last year, clopidogrel (Plavix), valsartan (Diovan), and montelukast (Singulair) will all become generic as the patent protection for big pharma runs out. Naturally, the pharmaceutical companies are doing everything they can to soften the blow through legal challenges, deals with the generic companies, marketing strategies, and hunting for loopholes. The truth is, much as I respect what they do and how challenging it is to bring a new drug to market, I don't have all that much sympathy for big pharmaceutical companies. I've seen too many patients who cannot afford the medications they need, spent too much time filling out insurance authorization forms, and struggled too long with the question of how to control healthcare costs that I think cheaper, generic versions of drugs, as long as they are equally effective as their brand-name counterparts will be good for our system.